From an early age, Maya Kanaan has followed news from the Middle East, with a particular concern for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Maya feels a close connection to her grandmother and other relatives who live in Nablus, located in the Palestinian West Bank, and has visited there every summer with her family. On her most recent visit, she volunteered at a Palestinian preschool, teaching English phrases to the young children.

At the end of her sophomore year, Maya decided she wanted to start a club at Marshall High School, calling it the Peace in the Middle East (PITME) club. Shane Kellogg, Maya’s varsity soccer coach and business teacher, became the club sponsor. Mr. Kellogg said, “Before starting the club, Maya and I had conversations where she openly talked about things happening in the Middle East and frequently conveyed that she wanted to find a way to help and spread awareness about this. Since that point, Maya has been proactive in promoting the club and has grown the club's membership drastically in just a couple of years. Being able to make connections and share current, relevant information with others has been very informative for the students and myself.”

Now with about 30 members of many ethnicities, the Peace in the Middle East club meets regularly to learn about a variety of Middle Eastern countries. Maya prepares informational slideshows on each country, focusing on how conflict there is affecting children’s lives. Recently, the club obtained the sponsorship of a local restaurant to help raise money for children in Lebanon. They were able to provide five teachers with remote-learning supplies, increasing access to quality education. This past fall, they raised money for Afghani children’s school supplies, distributing the money through the Save the Children Fund. The club is planning additional fundraising activities for this spring.

In college next year, Maya hopes to continue her advocacy efforts, bringing awareness of the issues facing children in the Middle East to her campus and continuing to learn and advocate for change. In the words of Mr. Kellogg, “Maya is a caring individual with the drive and determination to use her skillset to help others.”